Continental Drift by Dummy Freelancers

seafloor stripes

A not-all-that-surprising number of the freelancers our staffers nominate for the DotD have been caught attempting to pass along information they either don't understand or on which they're performing a sort of digital cut-and-paste job. Out task, which we apply regularly, is to call out people whose reason for such "information transfer" appears to be rooted in the desire to get paid instead of in the desire to share knowledge. After all, if you don't have the knowledge in the first place, why are you "sharing" it? That appears to be the problem of Aalla, who published exactly one post at UniverseToday.com, "Continental Drift Theory."

Earth's Center for Dummy Fifth-Graders

Earth's layers

It goes without saying that laypersons who write about elementary science often attempt to simplify the more technical concepts. Mostly, it's because they aren't familiar enough with the heavier stuff to do the simplification. Plus, a lot of them don't do the necessary research to correct their own misconceptions, which is quite probably where Fraser Cain¹ ran into problems with his UniverseToday.com post, "How Far Down is the Center of the Earth?"

Plate Boundaries for Dummies

Plate boundary classification

When it comes to reading through what passes for freelance "science" writing on line, our staffers had to develop thick skins in a hurry. The sad fact is that waaaaay too many people are quite happy to Google a topic and then attempt to reword whatever rubbish they find. It's bad enough if they start worrying around the edges of Wikipedia, but when they find another freelancer's load of crap, all bets are off. Here's hoping that the next generation of freelancers doesn't try to draw inspiration from John Carl Villanueva, a Filipino blogger at TheUniverseToday.com, and his take on "What Are Plate Boundaries?"

Subduction, the Dummies Version

Subduction zone

When it comes to freelancers taking on science, we're all for it. All for it, that is, as long as the freelancers seem to have some understanding of the concepts they discuss; a juxtaposition that seems far more unusual than is acceptable. What it looks like out there, at least as far as we at the Antisocial Network can tell, is that the STEM types don't freelance about science (they're all too busy working?); the liberal arts grads do. That's what we found today, with International Studies student Abby Cessna attempting to explain "What is a Subduction Zone?" for UniverseToday.com.

The Kola Borehole for Dummies

Mirny Diamond Mine

Among the staffers here at the Antisocial network who have a scientific bent, little is more frustratingly amusing than observing the goofy manner in which the scientifically illiterate mangle facts during their freelance forays into the worlds of STEM topics. Take, for instance, UniverseToday.com contributor Jerry Coffey, who liberally reworded an article that was probably more authoritative to write his post "Deepest Hole in the World."

More Earthquakes for Dummies

Seismic signature of a nuclear test

We do so love to come across new sources of internet stupidification here at the Antisocial Network, so it's with great pleasure... well, not pleasure per se... that we introduce our readers to the website named UniverseToday.com. Why Jerry Coffey pounded out the post he called, "What are the Different Types of Earthquakes?" for this particular website, we have no idea; except that apparently at the time the site didn't style itself as "Space and astronomy news." Whatever the case, Jerry's training as a registered nurse didn't seem to lend itself well to the topic at hand.